Chinese Elites Bid on Next US President; New De Facto Taiwan Embassy in India | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, Trump or Harris. Many Chinese elites have already picked their preferred candidate for the next US president. We delve into the reasons behind their choice. Would tariffs save the day or send prices soaring? Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and former President Donald Trump talk strategy from opposite sides of the debate. If we take a lot of the jobs that have been outsourced overseas but bring them back over into the United States, that's where we have to go as a country. Taiwan just opened a new de facto embassy in India and China isn't pleased. Beijing urging New Delhi to be cautious in handling the Taiwan issue. And North Korea's Kim Jong-un labels South Korea as hostile, revising its constitution to reflect the label for the first time. That's two days after it blew up key roads connecting the country with the South. But what's next? As the U.S. presidential election enters its final countdown, China, Washington's biggest competitor, is closely watching the tight race. The future leader of the White House will significantly impact U.S.-China relations. NTD's Flora Hua brings us a closer look at which candidate is receiving more support from the majority of Chinese elites. A Bloomberg Thursday report indicates that more of China's elites prefer Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Trump. Zhu Junwei is a former researcher for the Chinese military and now works with the Chinese think tank. She said it's a common view among Chinese experts that Harris means more continuity, at least for the first years of her presidency, whereas the Trump administration could bring more uncertainty to the bilateral relations. Some China experts talked to Voice of America. Bao Chengke, the deputy director at a Shanghai-based think tank, echoed Zhu's opinions. He predicts that due to Harris' lack of experience with handling China issues, she will likely continue Biden's China policies, competition but not conflict, and maintaining communications. He hopes Harris would be more moderate towards China than President Biden. Another Hong Kong expert on international affairs, Song Zhongping, also prefers Harris. He criticized Trump for waging a trade war and even a potential tech war with China. Back to Bloomberg's report, it said that despite the division between the two superpowers, Beijing needs stable relations with America more than ever before. That's because China's economy is still struggling, so much that Beijing recently issued stronger-than-ever stimulus measures. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to level the playing field for American products through imposing high China tariffs, which he believes would also protect American wages and bring more production back home. But that could spell disaster for China, as exports play a key role in powering its economy. Harris opposes Trump's China tariff, saying it would result in price increases for shoppers and would up the pressure on middle-class families. It's worth noting that comments from China's elite that are currently visible publicly have all passed the country's strict censorship check. Last month, Beijing's foreign ministry said it was against making China an issue in U.S. elections. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that the tariffs proposed by former President Donald Trump would harm the U.S. economy. She says they would raise prices for American consumers and make American companies less competitive. Yellen did not name Trump specifically, but referred to his calls for tariff hikes. Trump has proposed raising tariffs to anywhere from 10 to 20 percent on almost all U.S. imports, and to at least 60 percent on imports from China. The highest rate would be up to 200 percent on individual companies such as John Deere if they move some production to Mexico. Yellen emphasized the need to create a healthier economic relationship with China, but argued against cutting ties to Beijing. Trump on Wednesday called tariffs the most beautiful word in the world. He said tariffs would fuel U.S. manufacturing growth. Former President Donald Trump says high tariffs would bring factories back to the U.S. He explained in a Tuesday interview with Bloomberg that the answer for companies wanting to avoid tariffs is simple. Build their plants in the United States, and they won't have to pay them. To discuss the effect of higher tariffs on American jobs, NDT's Steve Lance spoke with Republican strategist Will Pierce and Democratic strategist and pollster Brad Bannon. Will Pierce, Brad Bannon, thank you both so much for joining. Thank you. Will, we haven't heard too much about foreign policy from either of the candidates, especially at the debates. Do you think that what Trump's saying here will resonate with the American people? I think it will resonate with American people overall because while jobs, while the amount of jobs are increasing in the United States, it's because the average person has to work 200 jobs. But if we do bring more good, better jobs, more from overseas, that would be what Donald Trump is basically saying. If we sit here, if we take a lot of the jobs that have been outsourced overseas but bring them back over into the United States, that's where we have to go as a country. Now, Brad, in all fairness, the Biden administration, the Biden-Harris administration has not rescinded or lifted the Trump-era tariffs on China. In fact, they've added more to them. What do you think is the best approach for the Democrats on this issue? Well, the thing to remember is in the 1920s, the United States and the rest of the industrialized countries in the world had massive tariffs and it led to the worst depression in American history and millions of Americans lost their jobs. There is a need for trade and Trump's excessive tariff restrictions would ruin the American country and move America back into the kind of unemployment that existed during his first presidency. Remember, the Biden policy has created more than 15 million jobs since Trump left office. And if we had Trump's excessive tariffs, we would go back to the bad old days of Trump's tenure when unemployment was rampant. Will Pierce, Brad Bannon, really appreciate both of you joining us. Thank you very much. A new de facto Taiwanese embassy in India just opened its doors and Beijing is lashing out. The new Taiwan representative office opened on Wednesday in Mumbai, a city on India's west coast. It's the third Indian city to host an office established by the Taiwanese government. These representative offices are commonly considered de facto Taiwanese embassies, though no country refers to them as Taiwanese embassies to avoid angering Beijing. But the office's opening still angered the Chinese Communist Party. On Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry urged India to handle the Taiwan issue cautiously, saying that China opposes any country that engages in official contacts with Taiwan. The CCP views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, though it has never ruled the island. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims and refuses to allow Beijing to represent it on the international stage. Earlier this week, Beijing said it would never renounce the possibility of using force to take over Taiwan. Beijing also staged a new round of war games around the island. Now we turn to the Korean Peninsula, where tensions are escalating. North Korea, a nuclear-armed communist country, is taking new action. NTD Taiwan correspondent Joy Chiu has more. Communist North Korea is drifting farther and farther from its southern neighbor. It labeled South Korea a hostile state on Thursday. North Korea's state media confirmed the country's national assembly amended the constitution. This change aligns with leader Kim Jong-un's vow to abandon unification with the South, as the national goal. And earlier this week, North Korea's military destroyed road and railway connections at the border. The access to the South is now completely blocked. North Korea called it a legitimate action against a hostile state. South Korea has strongly condemned the action and said it would not back down from its effort for a peaceful reunification with the North. Joy Chiu, NTD News, Taiwan. Flying drones blow roads in escalation. North Korea's decision to define South Korea as a hostile state is the latest in a string of exchanges between the two Koreas, driving tensions to their highest level in years. Could these flare-ups lead to something bigger? Let's dive in. As well as blowing up roads and railways, North Korea on Sunday said it had put eight fully armed artillery units at the border on standby to open fire. And on Wednesday, these pictures were released as state media reported that around 1.4 million young people have signed up or returned to the military. Previously, similar claims during heightened tensions have been made. Such statements from the isolated state are difficult to verify. The build-up in tensions comes after North Korea accused Seoul last week of sending drones over Pyongyang, scattering anti-North leaflets. An analyst from South Korea said North Korea seems to be using the incident to rally people against the South, in line with its push to sever cross-border ties and promote a two-state system. An official at Seoul's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said Pyongyang might be seeking to consolidate people's unity and build logic for a provocation by exaggerating tension against the South. There also seemed to be public pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over economic challenges, the official said. The United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday announced the launch of a new multinational team, the goal to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea after Russia and China thwarted activities at the United Nations. Here's U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. The potential for this to be a major effort in tracking and holding to account steps that North Korea is taking across a range of provocative actions is real, and we look forward to it taking shape in the months and years ahead. Earlier this year, Kim declared South Korea a primary foe and said unification was no longer possible. Seoul's defense ministry has warned if North Korea inflicts harm on the safety of South Koreans, that day will be the end of its regime. From civilians to private companies to state security agencies, Western countries are sounding the alarm as China moves to bolster its espionage capability on a never-before-seen scale. That's according to an article by the Wall Street Journal. In September, the FBI unveiled a Chinese state-backed hacking campaign dubbed Seoul Typhoon. The operation compromised over 200,000 internet-connected devices around the world, ranging from cameras to routers. American broadband providers including Verizon, AT&T and Lumen Technologies were reportedly caught in the breach. What's more, federal authorities said hackers may have gained footholds in court-authorized wiretapping systems in the U.S. Officials are still in the process of figuring out the severity of the operation, as some lawmakers suggest it could amount to a massive counterintelligence failure. According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Chinese hackers outnumber his agency's entire cyber personnel by a 50-to-1 ratio. He added the regime's hacking program is, quote, larger than that of every other major nation combined. And Beijing's espionage capability extends beyond the cyber realm. A congressional investigation revealed Chinese cargo cranes used at U.S. ports could contain technology that would allow Beijing control of them remotely. And just last month, a former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul was charged with acting as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party. The aide previously held multiple positions in the New York state government. Coming up, Germany is protesting against the European Union's new China tariff. The country's finance minister is saying German car makers have little to fear from China. I don't want to be impolite, but the European and especially the German car industry has little to fear from Chinese products. The best cars are built in Germany. More stimulus, more control. This year, nearly 70 percent of new policies in China have been crafted seemingly to tighten the regime's grip. And Beijing is installing video cameras in college lecture halls, sparking public concern. One professor says it's all about silencing the truth. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. German's finance minister voiced concerns on Wednesday over German cars built in China, saying they could no longer be competitive in their home market after being charged high European Union taxes. Here's more. That's after the European Union passed a tariff hike on Chinese electric vehicles two weeks ago. Although Germany voted nay, the council still collected enough support from the bloc. The European Union wants to level the playing field for cars imported from China and cars that are made in Europe. But the decision puts Germany, the world's biggest automaker, in an awkward position. Many German cars are assembled in China. The German Economic Institute last year said more and more German automakers have relocated their production lines to China over the past few years. The German finance minister stressed that German car makers had little to fear from their Chinese counterparts. I don't want to be impolite, but the European, and especially the German car industry, has little to fear from Chinese products. The best cars are built in Germany. In other words, German engineering products which were built in China with electric engines we would love to have are being taxed in a way when they enter Europe where they are possibly no longer competitive. That's what I call self-inflicted damage. Germany's auto sector is a key industry to the country's economy. Before the EU and Beijing find a better resolution, the new EU tariff on China will take effect at the end of this month and it's expected to last five years. TikTok can become addictive in just 35 minutes. That's according to documents uncovered in a lawsuit against its Chinese-based owner, ByteDance. We spoke with Rex Lee, cybersecurity advisor at MySmart Privacy, to talk about the dangers of the social media app. Rex Lee, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Thank you for having me on the show, Tiffany. When it comes to TikTok, lots of reporting points that it was actually started under the MSS or Beijing's security and intelligence agencies and ByteDance would never sell it. How concerning is that to you? What is at the heart of this? Well, before I get into that, let's look at who Meta is, the developers of Facebook and Instagram. And let's frankly look at Alphabet, the parent company of Google. These companies started off to be data brokers. They are first and foremost a data broker. That's their business model. So they're the ones who are making billions of dollars from these app developers from adversarial countries and distribute them. They're beholding to the governments in those oppressive countries, such as the Chinese government and the CCP. It's been well known for a long time and published by Bloomberg several years ago that these companies have to have a member of the Chinese government on their board. And I can guarantee you that that government member is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party and ByteDance is one of those companies. So you can now see where if you go back to your question about the dangers of the algorithm that they don't want to expose or sell, then you have to ask why was it developed? Was it developed for consumer purposes or has it been weaponized and militarized? Let's say they do sell TikTok. Who's going to stop another Chinese company from developing the next new social media platform? And then they just incorporate that weaponized algorithm in their social media platform. It's a never ending process. Lately, we're seeing more and more lawsuits against TikTok. TikTok is also suing the state. But with this latest round of lawsuits, you have states like California, New York. This is in terms of children's privacy. But given this latest round of lawsuits from 13 states plus Washington, D.C., in your view, what are the lawsuits missing here? They're missing the target 100 percent. And this is more about extorting billions of dollars from ByteDance than it is about solving the problem. So what I believe needs to happen here is that the states have to go back and include other companies because the same technologies that are built into TikTok are built into Facebook and Instagram and any other app or platform that's highly addictive. That's the problem. It's tech addiction. That's the problem. And they're missing the boat by just trying to pick on one company. And rightfully so, they should continue on with the lawsuit with ByteDance, but they need to include the other social media platform developers. Rexley, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. With more fiscal stimulus comes the expansion of state organs, according to a Bloomberg report. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is consolidating his paramount position and the upcoming economic incentive will reflect his grip on power. In this year alone, roughly 70 percent of laws made by China's legislature, known in the West as a rubber stamp parliament, were designed to bolster the regime's authority. The report says most of these measures involve defense, national security and the running of state apparatus. Sitting on top of national organs, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was name dropped 16 times in the annual work report, marking a new record since he took power. And on the economic front, Beijing is slated to greenlight a measure that would enforce party ideology upon its financial sector. The CCP's legislator is expected to spend trillions of dollars to stimulate economic growth as soon as next week. Beijing is installing video recording systems in college classrooms and it's raising concerns among the public. One professor says regime is trying to stop teachers from sharing important information with students. A chat group screenshot from a course at Nanchang University in central China has gone viral on Chinese social media. Students were warned about surveillance cameras in classrooms. The branch of Chinese Communist Party or CCP inside that university confirmed the information, saying that many universities have installed cameras in classrooms and adding the campuses were following orders from higher authorities. Worth noting, every university in China houses an internal CCP branch. A professor from Shanghai told NTD that the communist regime is escalating surveillance inside colleges to protect her identity. She asked to be called only by her surname. One of my instructors talked about social issues like high housing prices and contaminated food. A student reported him to the student affairs office. She said the college gave the instructor a warning for speaking negatively about Chinese authorities. Zhang added that the situation is one of several similar cases at her college. She also shared her own experience. One time, a student asked me about the Tiananmen Square incident. I shared my views because I went through it. But afterwards, I got nervous because it's such a sensitive topic. I was worried the student might report me. The Tiananmen Square incident refers to the massacre that happened in Beijing in 1989. The CCP ordered soldiers to open fire on unarmed students and citizens, causing an estimated thousands of deaths or more. The students had gathered to call for democracy and anti-corruption measures. Zhang said the CCP is afraid that instructors might expose lies the regime uses to brainwash students. And once that happens, students will uncover the reality about China's communist rule. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at ChinaInFocusNTD.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around the clock original news coverage, visit us at NTD.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.